Letter: Many Easements, Few Problems

I am sorry that a Plainfield landowner and the public are at odds over access to a parcel of conserved land in town. In Cornish, we have approximately 2,900 acres of conserved land in parcels ranging in size from 10 acres to 670 acres. Almost all of these conservation easements include public access, including my own property. To my knowledge, there has never been a controversy or problem, other than occasional littering, with the public using conserved land for recreational purposes. We have hikers, hunters, cross country skiers, mountain bikers and folks on snowshoes using our trails on a regular basis and have experienced no problems.

People such as the former owner of the Plainfield property in dispute, Mike Yatsevitch, who conserved over 1,000 acres in Cornish and Plainfield, and many more folks in the Upper Valley have had the foresight and commitment to conserve land and protect our natural resources and scenic beauty for generations to come. Most of these properties allow the public access for recreational purposes.

It is my hope that people contemplating placing a conservation easement on their property will not let the current dispute in Plainfield dissuade them from doing so. Please contact your local conservation commission or organizations such as the Upper Valley Land Trust or the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests to get additional information on the benefits of and process for land conservation. Your gift to our region will be appreciated by so many for years to come.

Plainfield — State officials say that the town has limited legal authority in an ongoing dispute involving a property owner who purchased 104 acres of land with a conservation easement. Tracey Boisvert, program director for the Conservation Land Stewardship, wrote that a resolution should be possible between property owner Jennifer Lesser and town officials and hikers by reinforcing that one …